Hand built bowl with Sgraffito surface decoration at Dublin based ceramic course. Later electric fired to 1260°C (Cone 8). www.ceramicforms.com

Pottery & Ceramic Courses

2024

All courses are exclusively taught by Michelle Maher.

Please Note: If weekly  courses are full; please fill in the mailing list form & when a place is available you’ll hear about it first!  New places come up regularly.

*NEW* Weekly places are available here!

Course training fees include materials (clay & decorating slips), use of studio equipment & pottery tools, ceramic glazes & firing of work.

How do the weekly pottery courses work?

2024 Weekly Ceramic Class Schedule

MondayTuesdayWednesday
Morning10:30am – 12:30pm
Evening19:00-21:0019:00-21:0019:00-21:00

Please Note: Most weekly courses are currently full but if you fill in the mailing list form I will get in touch when a place is available.

How the weekly ceramic training courses work…

How can I join?

→ Prior booking is essential for all classes.

→ Currently, most weekly classes are full but if you want to hear about new places first please go on the mailing list.

→ After booking please note course fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Full Terms and Conditions and Payment Methods for classes are available in the FAQ section.

Student glazing a hand-built bowl. Safety First! In this studio we have a "No Gloves, No Glaze" policy! Always wear gloves while glazing! www.ceramicforms.com

It’s all about the surface…

Non-Combustible Mixed Media

A keen area of interest at Ceramic Forms is decorating and design using non-combustible mixed media with ceramics.  We have been exploring this type of surface treatment in the studio for many years now and a considerable amount of knowledge has developed.

It is a key part of our courses that students develop excellent ceramic decorating and glazing skills.  In the intensive environment that my classes offer you will be trained on an array of technical decorating skills for ceramics.

In terms of mixed media – essentially, this is adding non-combustible materials to the clay as a way to enhance surface decoration.  After firing in the kiln the magic happens leaving amazing patterns and textures in the slip or clay that is left behind.

Non-combustibles we use would be materials like grogs, molochites, perlite and recycled glass.  All theses materials make amazing patterns and textures in clay.

Mixed media materials as well as other materials like slips, clay, glazes, firing, use of tools are all included in the course fees.

Students of all skill levels can explore combustible mixed media.

For lots of examples of this mixed media surface treatement please see my Pinterest Boards.

Surface Decoration

Here at Ceramic Forms we are big into surface decoration!  As a maker I have a special interest in ceramic surface and I am very happy to share my expertise with my students and to train and develop their skills in this area.

Whether its resists such as wax, paper or latex or coloured slip decoration like marbling, stencilling, spotting, feathering, sponging, slip trailing or maybe you’d like to try glazes with different finishes like gloss, reactive, crystalline, matt, satin or dry.

Over the years I have built up a big catalogue of glazes and we have 70 + glazes available to students!

Beautiful mark marking can also be achieved by impressing with wallpaper, stones, shells, leaves, bark, textured rollers or fabric.

In addition,  surface techniques like inlaying, combing, sgraffito, carving, cutting, impressing, piercing, burnishing, modelling in relief, clay stamps or terra sigillata – can also be explored.

Students of all skill levels can explore these surface decoration techniques.

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Hand built vessel by Elena Annunziata at Dublin based ceramics weekend course. Glass & grogged decorating slip detail. Electric fired to 1260°C (Cone 8). www.ceramicforms.com
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Melted recycled glass

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Grog in decorating slip creating a wonderful texture.

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Layered reactive stoneware glazes finish the look!

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Toad modelled by Herle Mette Andersen at Dublin based ceramics weekend workshop. Texture was achieved by sponging decorating slips and impressing the clay with a textured stone. Electric fired to 1260°C (Cone 8). www.ceramicforms.com
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Texture was achieved with a pitted stone.

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Coloured slips & glaze combine to bring the piece to life.

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Bowl detail with glass by Cleo O'Neill #Dublin #CeramicClass #stoneware #handmade #CombustibleMixedMedia (edge is sunflower seeds in slip) #cone8 #glass #glaze #loveclay #ceramicstudio #ceramicforms
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Melted recycled glass.

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Bird seeds and perlite create an amazing coral surface!

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Coloured slips & reactive flowing glazes combine.

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Coil built jug by Annie O'Neill in crank clay body at Dublin based Wednesday evening Ceramic course. With red iron oxide dry glaze. Electric fired to 1260°C (Cone 8). www.ceramicforms.com
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Incredible glaze on coiled pot! A dry/crackle red iron oxide finish.

Ceramic Course Details…

→ We cover the following hand building methods: press moulds, hump moulds, slab building, soft slabbing, coiling, pinching, patches, quilting, modelling – tailoring the method to your individual project.

→ Depending on the area of learning – our approach can be sculptural or functional, representational or abstracted.  And in the small class size I offer, you will be given the skills necessary to guide you right through the project from building to decorating to glazing.

→ There is a strong emphasis in the courses on developing technical ceramic skills, good construction methods, excellent finish and on first-rate decorating techniques; we use coloured decorating slips as well as a wide palette of stoneware glazes.  As you can see from the Gallery of Student’s Work the results speak for themselves!  Almost all of my students started with me as beginners to clay.

→ We only use the best quality stoneware clay; as well as a wide range of coloured decorating slips and glazes.

All courses are exclusively taught by Michelle Maher.

→ Course training fees include materials (clay & decorating slips), use of studio equipment & pottery tools, ceramic glazes & firing of work.  (Fair usage policy applies.)

→ Large library of ceramic books and magazines available that students can refer to for inspiration etc.  There is also lots on ceramic inspiration on my Pinterest  page.

Collection of glazed student pieces at Dublin based ceramic class. Jug and teapot by Anna Turpin, spirit house by Rosemarie Connolly. All electric fired to 1260°C (Cone 8). www.ceramicforms.com
Figure modelled by Paula Cullen in crank clay body at Dublin based Tuesday morning pottery course. Decorating slip detail. Electric fired to 1260°C (Cone 8). www.ceramicforms.com

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